Game of Polo with a Headless Goat 

Levine, Emma
ISBN:  9780233050416         Subject:  Travel Writing        
Published:  2003       Binding:  Paperback     Pages:  314 pages

During a seven-year journey around India spent immersing herself in the cricket subculture, author Emma Levine heard about the game of buzkashi, a kind of anarchic rugby on horseback where teams of men wrestle and race to grab a headless goat and propel it towards goal. This sparked a desire to explore Asia's unique traditional sports.

"A Game of Polo with a Headless Goat" is Emma Levine's absorbing account of her epic adventure, which took her from camel wrestling in Turkey through bull racing in India to traditional gymnastics in Iran, performed to poetry and the beat of a drum. Everywhere she went she met the people who act as guardians of their ancient sports, protecting the traditions that have evolved over generations.